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Archive for the '2009' Category
So this post is overdue. This is Way Back When Wednesday.
I remember the date exactly; it was November 12, 2009 at about 4 pm. I was at work, doing things I was supposed to do, trying to whittle my workload down, when I was called in to see the Human Resource guy of my company. I was nervous, as I always am for meetings, and didn’t know why he was calling me in. So when he sat down and said this is something they never like to do, my smile faded. He said they were going to have to let me go….
I sat shocked in my seat, this news came completely out of the blue. I almost didn’t believe this was even happening. Automatically, tears starting pouring out my eyes as I was asking things like: Seriously? Wait this is for real? What am I supposed to do now? Is anyone else getting laid off? So he told me they were removing two other people from my team as well, but that they would still have a job on the call floor. Since I was hired on under Data Entry, I wouldn’t have the option to move to the call floor. He didn’t even offer it. There are 2 other people on our team that got to KEEP their jobs. One is the team manager and the other another team member just like I was. So now the team of 5, including the manager, was now a team of 2. They told me they would outsource our jobs, that they are re-arranging the team and have better resources to use at this point, which meant outsourcing. (I was thinking in my head that was such BS!!! My boss, the team director, has always said he would never outsource our work. I had always held onto the hope he gave to all of us that our jobs were secure. Apparently not, after all.)
I couldn’t believe my company was selling out. Over THREE AND A HALF YEARS I gave to them, worked my butt off, tried to gain longevity and show loyalty to this company and I get laid off as a ‘thank you’. Very nice.
So then as I’m job hunting the next day and filling out unemployment and all that, I saw on Craigslist that this very same company was looking to hire for the position of Social Media Guru and SEO Director (something to that effect anyway). As I read through the description for both job positions I realized I could have applied for either one of them, honestly. I would have probably been perfect for the Social Media Guru position. And get this… they were posted on November 4, 2009!! So this very same HR guy who let me go, had posted these 2 jobs 8 days before! And he told me in the meeting that he only found out 5 minutes before our meeting. Wow. This was a low blow.
A company I spent over 3 and a half years at, bonding with other co-workers, making chit-chat, establishing a “family” atmosphere at my home-away-from-home and now I’m just completely cut off!
And to top all of this off… I thought for sure I would remain good friends with the last two people who got to keep their jobs on that team, but guess who was wrong?! I’ve tried numerous times to contact each of them separately to keep up with them but with no response. Wow. And I thought we were good friends. We were there for each other whenever annoyances came up from our team or whenever we needed a friend and now they both are not there for me.
So as you can see, I’ve been a bit bitter about this whole event. It’s taken me a month and a half to actually conjure up the words to tell the blog world about my lay off. Now you have it. The real story. I had no idea it was coming. I was completely taken off guard. My ex-company has NOT been hit at all by this ongoing economic recession. They were in fact HIRING when this happened. And I keep seeing more job listings even this week for other positions in the company, none that I’m qualified for. They are not hurting for money. They are, in fact, money-greedy and don’t care for each and every employee they employ. Very sad.
So for Christmas, I want each and every one of you who is employed to be thankful you have a good job. I, on the other hand, lost mine a month and a half ago and STILL have no prospects in getting another one like the one I had. Please don’t take your jobs for granted during this recession. I had to learn the hard way. My Christmas bonus was in the form of a BIG FAT LAY OFF. Thankyouverymuch.
There have been some good things along the way too though. I’ve recently moved out from a dungeon basement apartment I was living in for 2 years. Now I’m in a four-plex with nice big windows and I feel really great about where I live, finally. My boyfriend has a great new job with an awesome global company. He’s lucky to have this job and I’m so grateful he landed it. I’m thankful for my boyfriend; we’ve been together over a year and a half now. Going strong. I’m feeling a bit better about myself finally, after letting some time pass, and I’m hopeful for the new year. I am thankful for friends, family and my loved ones. I will keep my true friends near and hold onto family more than ever.
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LMFAO – LaLaLa
Don’t know why it has such a long intro before the actual song…
Owl City – Fireflies
Cute song!
Paramore – Careful
I love anything Paramore.
Another Tuesday Tunes is upon us! Woohoo! Plug in for some fun and probably familiar tunes today. Check back next Tuesday for more. Thanks!
Paramore – Ignorance
[I could listen to this song over and over again]
Jay-Z (feat. Rihanna, Kanye West, Roc Nation) – Run This Town
Lady Gaga – Paparazzi (Live Acoustic)
[I love the piano music on this version]
Wow, I skipped a year in celebrating my half-birthdays. LOL. What was I thinking?!
So today I am officially 28 AND A HALF. Check me out! Yeah I’m climbin that age ladder alright. You betcha!
I’m still working for the same company, doing SEO, been here over 3 years, actually closer to the 4 year mark, live in the basement of my house still, alone, have created about 9 websites total, 6 are mine, have learned in leaps and bounds in the world of SEO and am thankful for my challenging job.
My sisters and brother are all married and have at least 3 kids each. My oldest sister has 2 more than 3. 
In fact, she has a daughter in college now! My parents still live in California. Um, seeing babies makes me feel baby hungry. My brother and his wife and 3 boys live in the same city that I live in so I’m thankful to be able to spend time with their family often! And they have a baby boy, who makes me baby hungry. He’s got such a huge smile and he smiles with his eyes. And my 2nd oldest sister has 2 daughters and 1 baby boy who is as cute as can be! The memorable thing about him is that while he’s in the stroller and mommy is pushing it, he’ll just sit and stare at his mommy and just smile! It’s so adorable!
I still have a deep love for music and all things creative. I haven’t played the piano in over 2-3 months and I’m getting really rusty. My house is chaos from all the Provo zoning requirements they’re throwing at us. I still care for my little hamster Olly who hides out in his house about 97% of the time. I’d really love to get either a puppy or a kitty so I can cuddle with an animal. I long for that companionship from a little furry one.
And that’s about it for my random post. I think I’ll end it with: Happy Veteran’s Day! 
And thanks for reading my randomness. I just wanted to announce my HALF birthday. LOL.
Check out these 3 songs and tune in next Tuesday for more. Thanks!
Flyleaf – So I thought
Taylor Swift – Love Story
[a new favorite]
Imogen Heap – First Train Home
[my sister, Lisa's favorite]
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So along with fixing the hole in the bathroom, my dad found out that our house isn’t quite up to Provo zoning standards, since it was built in 1944! Duh! Anyway, he needed to put in bigger windows in the basement (one in each bedroom) so an adult-sized person can use it as a fire escape.
And here are some before pics – where my rooms look like a CRIME LAB since I covered all my stuff in plastic so it wouldn’t get dirty-dusty.
Yep, that’s my house, the two bedroom basement I live in. LOL! It looks like a crime lab, doesn’t it? I know what you were thinking. Don’t deny it!
_________________________________________________________
Skip to when I got off of work tonight…
I don’t think they are completely finished yet, but here is what they look like NOW:
I’m hoping this isn’t finished cuz they look like crap if so. Nah, but seriously these are HUGE windows!! I think we need either blinds or drapes now to cover these babies. But it’ll FINALLY let in some LIGHT into this little basement! Woohoo!
Because he fixed up my bathroom and made it look all nice again!
Caution: The following picture might not be for the weak…
nasty worm
See this worm?? Yep that one right up there ^^^ It was crawling around in my bathTUB one night when I went to get in for my routine nightly shower!! And here’s another friend I found a different day:
earthworm
At least this one is an earth worm though! Here’s another shot of it, to prove it was still moving when I found it. YUCK!!
earthworm2
Well this worm-in-my-tub problem didn’t start until we had a leak from the upstairs toilet, creating a bubble in the wall, then a hole, then had to have a plumber come over to “fix” it (which is in quotes because it’s a relative term, in this case), who broke off most of the bathroom wall and left this big gaping hole…
hole1
And the ceiling to that hole is…
hole2
Oh wait, it’s MISSING since it’s a big fat HOLE!
Alright, so when the plumber came he advised us to get an exterminator over here real quick to spray for the swarm of (and I quote) “weird-looking bugs and spiders” that he saw up in the ceiling between our two floors. Needless to say, I hate bugs, D.E.S.P.I.S.E. them! Um so I had sticky traps on my floors all around, in like every room. Mostly they were gnats flying around but then I had some humongous spiders as well. Proof:
Yuck!
Yep! That’s the biggest spider I’ve seen in my own living space, to date! Alrighty, well let’s get to the solution.
My Dad is the greatest Dad because he came in town from my home state of California and stayed a week to fix this gaping hole and work on some other things around the house too. K I just checked everywhere and I guess I don’t have a picture of the newly finished bathroom work my dad did. 
Dangit. Oh well, you’ll just have to imagine it.